Molino Bridge To Reopen Soon; Bratt And Nokomis Bridges Closed

December 7, 2017

The Florida Department of Transportion ordered the emergency closure of two North Escambia bridges on Wednesday, as officials said a Molino Road bridge will reopen soon.

The Nokomis Road Bridge over Reedy Branch and the Bratt Road Bridge over Canoe Creek, outside Century near McBride Road, were both closed due to failed inspections. There is no estimated date for the bridges to reopen. The Nokomis Road bridge was constructed in 1964, while the Bratt Road bridge was built in 1956. Both bridges have an average daily traffic count of about 425 vehicles.

Meanwhile, an Escambia County spokesperson said the Molino Road bridge over Penasula Creek, just east of Sunshine Hill Road, will likely open next week. The Florida Department of Transportation is projected the bridge will be ready to open by Friday, December 15, weather permitting.

Contractor F&W Construction Company started the Molino bridge project on January 3 under a contract that gave the company  265 days for completion. Numerous contract extensions were granted in the $1.1 million project due to an additional piling that was required, holidays and weather, including Hurricane Irma.

The wood piling supported Molino Road Bridge was constructed in 1958 had reached a level of deterioration to warrant replacement and was next on the list of the FDOT’s Five-Year Work Plan. The project is being funded and the construction work is being performed under contract with the Florida Department of Transportation. After completion of the structure, Escambia County will be responsible for the maintenance of the bridge.

Pictured: The construction on the Molino Road bridge over Penasula Creek as seen in October. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

13 Responses to “Molino Bridge To Reopen Soon; Bratt And Nokomis Bridges Closed”

  1. Tabby on December 12th, 2017 5:25 am

    @Jeannie
    I wish you truely were sorry, your snippy comment aside. First, drivers still shouldn’t be doing 80mph. down the road. Second, I didn’t buy/build, I inherited. I’m not one of the yankees nor Johnny come lately from town. My family has lived in Barrineau Park continuously since the 1920’s. Infact, my great grandparents settled down in what is Sunshine Hill. So please, don’t act so high and mighty because you’ve lived here 20-30 years or one of the yankees mentioned above. Thanks.

  2. Burnie D. Silcox on December 9th, 2017 5:22 pm

    With my 45 yrs in construction I have never seen such a Un-regulated contract site where the contractor does not even show up on job, Even 1 man with a shovel would show some trying. They, act just like the Govt. officals they contract to .Time to change Dist .5 Governing Body By the way how about you fix Sunshine Hill Rd. noe that its I mile dragway is torn -up…Maybe a speedbump or two could help.Im fed up with the whole mess of yall,And I vote

  3. Jeannie on December 9th, 2017 4:04 pm

    I apologize for your inconvenience Tabby! However Sunshine Hill Road and Crabtree Church Road have been the speedway for the last 11 months. We will welcome the peace and quiet again. You chose to build and/or buy your home on Hwy 182 and yes that comes with traffic. I am glad you have enjoyed your peace but now it’s back to reality. Thanks for sharing…

  4. R on December 8th, 2017 2:23 pm

    All of the bridge’s in this county belong to the state of Florida not the Road Department. If you have a issue please contact your state representative.

  5. Tabby on December 7th, 2017 10:39 pm

    Oh well. It was great while it lasted. I guess on December 15th I can sit on the front porch and pretend I’m at the Snowball Derby again.

  6. 429SCJ on December 7th, 2017 6:29 pm

    @DDD, yes mam on those “weeks with no workers present”.

    The county commissioner for our district should have been monitoring progress and ramrodding these projects. Molino Road has dragged on forever.

    Manana is no excuse for a commissioner or a contractor; unacceptable!

  7. Citizen on December 7th, 2017 2:38 pm

    “The project is being funded and the construction work is being performed under contract with the Florida Department of Transportation.”

    OK, I give up on who pays for what.

    It is one of life’s mysteries to me…

  8. Susan on December 7th, 2017 1:55 pm

    I live off Nokomis and the detour around the bridge is horrible. All you do is slip and side all over the place. They should have done something to Jakes Rd before making us travel it, especially for the buses.

  9. DDD on December 7th, 2017 11:34 am

    Same with the bridge construction at Boggy Creek in Bay Springs, and Walnut Hill, weeks passing and no workers present. These projects would definitely be completed before now, had these workers been “at work” and actually doing the job. Inconvenience to local residents is not something they’ve taken into consideration at all, and probably never will. Had these areas been more populated and more “traffic” as let’s say, farther south, the completion would have been a priority. Infrastructure of these bridges may need to be replaced, but are they that damaged that individual vehicles, not log trucks or heavy duty vehicles, at that much of a risk when passing over the bridges, until the repairs are complete?

  10. D.Funck on December 7th, 2017 10:10 am

    I feel Gerri’s pain about the Jake’s Road slip and slide. The Nokomis detour was the only way to get from Pineville Rd. to Ernest Ward this morning. (Without crossing state lines anyway…)

  11. Gerri on December 7th, 2017 9:23 am

    A little warning about the detour for Nokomis would have been nice this morning. The detour is a lovely red clay slip and and slide due to the rain.

  12. Annoyed Molino Resident on December 7th, 2017 6:58 am

    The Molino Road Bridge could have been reopened a long time ago if the workers ever showed up for work. I can’t tell you how many times I have driven by this closure (annoyed with the detour) at various times of day (bright sunny days too) and have not seen one single worker out there. If only I could show up for my job whenever I wanted to and just ask for extensions on my work load. Ridiculous!

  13. Mrs. Ellis on December 7th, 2017 6:10 am

    Why is it not open already? We haven’t seen active work in a while and for previous weeks it has been sporadic! Is the same company rotating days to work on all the projects?